World's Most Prized Yellow Tea
Vložit
- čas přidán 19. 01. 2018
- In this video we shine the spotlight on Junshan Yellow Tea. Junshan Island tea is the most rare and expensive tea in the world with only a tiny amount made each year as a tribute tea.
Buy our Junshan Yinzhen: meileaf.com/p/tea-junc
Buy our Amber Mountain Yellow Tea: meileaf.com/p/tea-ammc
Buy one of our limited edition #keepteagangsta Gaiwans: meileaf.com/p/cl-gwkt
This tea is NOT from Junshan island, it is grown and produced in Pingjiang which is very close to Junshan Island in Hunan province. I say this upfront because Junshan Yinzhen is one of those teas which is widely marketed falsely.
Junshan is a tiny island jutting off the mainland in Dong Ting Lake in Hunan. The area is less than one square kilometre and the tea plantations make up a small proportion of this space.
The island is uninhabited and the plantations are all state owned with a relative handful of workers making the tea in tiny quantities and under strict control. As such, the finished tea produced on Junshan island is a modern tribute tea reserved for Government officials, diplomats and very big spenders.
So, while it is not impossible to get your hands on Junshan island Yinzhen, the amount that you can buy is tiny and the prices are insane. If we were to buy some island tea then we would have to sell for well over $1000 per 100g.
Is it worth this price? Short answer - NO! Island grown Junshan Yinzhen has the extra snob value because it is the most rare tea in the world but, in my opinion, you are paying for the rarity rather than the experience.
In neighbouring plantations on the mainland, high quality Junshan Yinzhen is being made by excellent producers. Whether you can technically call it Junshan Yinzhen even if it is produced outside Junshan is a fair argument but everyone in the area does and most wholesalers will pretend that this tea is from Junshan to increase the price.
The result is that most tea sellers are tricked by the lies into thinking that they are selling Junshan grown tea. They then bring it to market at a high price and the circle of false marketing is complete.
Junshan Yinzhen is a yellow tea. This means that it goes through a few days of moist heating in order to yellow the tea through non-enzymatic oxidation. Making Yellow tea is a long and skilled process which is why it is such a rarity in the world of tea.
This tea is produced by hand in Pingjiang area of Hunan near Dong Ting Lake and it is an example of an exemplary Yellow tea without the ultra-snob pricing.
The taste is very similar to the island made Junshan Yinzhen with fruits, flowers, cream and nuts and a distinct winter mountain mineral freshness which is why we named it Diamond Peak Yellow.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shop online: meileaf.com/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Join us on Instagram
/ mei_leaf
Tweet along with us
/ mei_leaf_tea
Write some friendly graffiti on our Facebook wall
/ meileaf
the thing I love about tea is that, despite being so luxurious and classy with so much nuance and taste/experience factors to delve into, the MOST expensive tea in the world can be had for the price of a dinner at a high end restaurant. sure, this isn't cheap, and that's not a type of tea I would be able to afford to drink every day, but it only goes down from there. I can get tea which is about 75% as good for 10% of the price on a regular basis, which, working damn near minimum wage, is pretty impressive. I love the power of commerce.
I have recently seen a few $1000-3000 tea cakes in a store in person. In 2002, a tea collector paid $28,000 for 20 gram of Da-Hong Pao (the real original Da-Hong Pao). Overall, I agree what you said, you can get good tea for $100-200 ($1-2 per gram) for say good Sencha or good Gyokuro or good Pu-erh...etc. However, can't you say the game for coffee or even whisky? You can get a pretty good Scotch for $200.
Let’s not forget the original tree Da Hong Pao that sold for something like $500,000 for a pound, although that’s a pretty rare situation!
Thanks for the tea inspiration! I'm sitting here, watching, and drinking my lovely matcha in the morning. It's going to be a good day.
Today I tried my first tea from maileaf, the midnight sun oolong. After some disappointments at other dealers, I began to doubt whether the top quality really existed. After one sip, I was immediately convinced it does exist. What an incredibly tasty tea. I am curious about my other teas. Greetings from Belgium!
Thanks for ordering from us!
I really enjoyed your explanation about what you called "buying on the knee". It is very informative. I'd love to see a video further exploring the topic.
Thank you, Don, for this video, it was informative and fun, I tasted your Amber Mountain in parallel: a very lovely delicate tea. Can‘t wait to A B test your 2 yellows with my Aunt‘s Huoshan Huan Ya, which she sourced from local Anhui friends. :) Have a great weekend!
Yeah! Finally something on yellow tea!
I get why you might not want to, but I personally think that referencing your shop's prices by numbers rather than just relative and vague terms is good.
Thank you for once again a great video. I would like too see one about all the different kind of yellow tea.
Hello Don! You should make more videos about black tea! And thanks for all the information about the yellow tea, it's something new for me.
Don, never apologize for sharing your detailed description they are so helpful!
Being a new bee to gong fu brewing and these exotic teas I'm worried about over heating the greens and matcha teas. Would you say in general lighter, green and white teas, are best at a lower temperature, say 165 F like you mentioned here? Thanks in advance!
The temperature affects the balance of flavours so it is more about what YOU would like the flavour to be rather than what is right for a tea. In general with green teas, we enjoy the spring/fresh flavours which are more in the low-temperature region but we sacrifice depth and warmth. I prefer to brew white teas differently with a bit more warmth so I push the temperature.
Thank you Supreme Tea Head!
I just tried this tea today. Absolutely amazing.
Using a second gaiwan without a lid as a drinking cup (as you are here) is so much better than constantly refilling a tiny cup.
Greetings from Nashville, TN! I saw you used to work in music, I’ve got to find me a UK tour so I can get to the shop. Believe it or not, there is a tea house here, so come visit! If only I could talk them in to sourcing thru meileaf.... hmmm....
Revisited this video with some yellow tea. I learned that mine is low quality though (two leaves and a bud and very green looking). It was really fun to go through the video with you, thanks! I was so dissapointed when after the 2 min infusion my tea just tasted meh. It had a good body, some astringecy, but none of the high notes. It tastes a lot deeper than the usual gongfu method with 80 degrees though. I should try to lower the temperature to 70 or even 65, maybe the heat killed the top notes?
I've not heard of yellow tea before. Thank you for the lesson :)
Nor I, and yes thank you so much
So I tried your suggested AB, Amber Mountain and Diamond Peak. The difference is really astonishing. Amber Mountain resembles way more a green tea, while Diamond Peak more a white tea. While they differ greatly in the taste, they share the same airy, ethereal quality. Both are supremely balanced with not the slightest edge or quality which could be offensive. You really feel like you are a being not bound to the earth, very fitting for an emperor.
It's a great way to test the range of yellow tea, and I can only guess that the production process and its length is the deciding factor of how much warmth, hay, marzipan, exotic fruits (the "white tea notes") you want, or if the green notes of asparagus, butter spinach and starchy potatoes should be dominant.
For me, yellow tea is reserved for a special occasion, not just because of the price, but due to its delicate nature if it doesn't get the full attention it just escapes and you are left with either a weak green or white tea. Also while 2 mins are great for Diamond Peak, 60sec is more than enough for Amber Mountain, else it goes a bit too much into the green notes and becomes a bit bitter.
omfg that was good! "complex" is an overused word and doesn't do it justice. not only were there many layers to the flavor, those layers panned out in just the right amounts. the best way I could describe it is like traveling up a mountain. first you have a bit of soil and rockiness (not as much as a ripe pu er or Wuyi oolong, but enough to add a few notes to the chord). then you have a lush, tropical grassiness. this is enough to make the tea almost bitter, but before this happens, the tea blossoms and reveals the taste of lychee and guava.
#WorthThePrice
PS: make sure you brew as instructed. it will be WAY too light if you brew with conventional gong fu methods. in fact, I'm probably going to re-purchase a few Chinese green teas I originally dismissed as "too light" and brew them in this fashion.
I just bought junshan yinzhen from Mei Leaf and just tasted it yesterday before watching your vdo. I notice the cultivar is qun ti zhong which is the same as Long Jing. Are they the same cultivar? From the look it is very similar to Long Jing and from the taste it is smoother and more complex with less nutty note. After 4th infusion, though, the taste becomes very similar to Long Jing.
Hi Don!
I would love a lesson on some other yellow tea, like Jin Tassel aka Golden Tassel. I have only ever found it on sale in one shop, forsman tea and I can't find any information on it other than the brief description on the website. That being said, I have bought small quantities of it, talking around 10-20 grams, and it is definitely a favourite of mine. A very full-bodied tea in my opinion, with notes of wheat and some 'roastiness' (is that the correct word?). The leaf is also in a very interesting shape. I don't think I have seen other teas that have been rolled into a spiral. Again, I would love to hear your take on it!
Do you know the Chinese name for this one?
Can you make a video about how elevation effects tea? Goodvideo!
Yep added to our videos to do!
I'm kinda new to yellow tea. I bought some at an online shop, but the leaves are much darker looking. Still trying to find out how to get the best taste out of it. Have tried with 80C and 70C water, but still has a little dry, wry aftertaste. Slightly bitter. Should I lower the temperature, or maybe it's just bad quality tea? If anyone has some tips or advice, it would be welcome!
Can yellow tea be like little red and yellow colour ? Not sure got some yellow it but now I am confused
Yessss another yellow :D
Where do you buy your teas from?
Brewing begins @ 18:40
Are there any oolong teas that have added the yellowing step?
Hi Don! How long does it take, to find the right temperature and brewing time? How much tea you need for this process?
Depends on the tea but for this one, we did many sessions.
Hi. I, m George Lai from Malaysia. I was just wondering the difference between this yellow tea fr Junshan island and Loong Jing. Does the flavour, fragrance and texture taste similar to Loong Jing ? Well it looks similar. Or, is this the famous tea for the Qing dynasty royals called Pick Lor Chun. Hope 2 from U. U r good.
Great video! Why hasn’t yellow tea become more popular in China? I would’ve expected an ancient process being rediscovered to have made it a contender with the other types.
The process is far too long and require a lot of attention for it to make a bigger tea type I think.
There is a well known tea seller in the UK, that claim their jun shan is grown on that island in the lake and they are the only UK distributor, but the tea is £20 for 100g, seems too cheap?
+John Warwick I don't want to question other sellers authenticity as I think most sellers try their best to be honest about their tea. At that price I would be very, very surprised if it were from Junshan Island and perhaps they were misinformed by their suppliers.
I am new to quality tea but I bought Amber Mountain and found it disgusting. Wondering if my pallet needs more training or what would you suggest?
Don, are you suggesting I try brewing Amber Mountain at 75 for two minutes?
Yes give it a try!
Interesting observation about the price of famous teas being more about the story or rarity and less about the actual taste and experience of drinking the tea. I couldn’t agree more by the way. So that brings me to this question, which famous tea, do you think is the most worth it’s rarity/story value, compared with all other famous teas, barring Puerh for this specific question, because the majority of the famous teas are greens, oolongs, yellows, and whites, oops and reds, I’m just curious which famous teas you think absolutely blew your mind so much, that price wouldn’t even matter!
Hi Don
Is the silver niddle white tea is worlds most expensive tea?
If not plz mentioned the name & make a session for the same.
No Silver Needle is not the most expensive tea. The quality Junshan Yinzhen from Junshan island is definitely one of the most expensive teas in the world although some PuErh tea will be more expensive.
Thanks for the prompt reply ☺
I believe the most expensive tea... maybe the original Da-Hong Pao (大紅袍) from the mother plants. "Da Hong Pao can sell for up to US$1,025,000 per kilogram or US $35,436 per ounce" "In 2002, a wealthy purchaser paid 180,000 yuan - almost $28,000 - for just 20g of China's legendary Da Hong Pao tea. "
www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160425-the-pot-of-tea-that-costs-10000
Chemicalkinetics thankyou so much for the valuable information. Frankly speaking this information makes me breathless, not because of the extraordinary figures($). Hope u understand my excitement. 🙏
+apurva k saha
Why? You want to know how much other people willing to spend their money? :P I guess if you have the money, and if you love tea... sometime you should at least try the expensive tea just for once.
I used to eat a lot of haw flakes. What tea is usually served in a restaurant?
hi, im a new subscriber and i was wondering if you could review shop bought Green tea (bags) and tell us what you think. brands like Tetley, PG Tips, Twinings etc. that would be super helpful thank you :)
NOOOOOOO you had me until the math type graph lol
Tea
Color of This $heeeT!
very similar2 some other green tea!
PLease OVER TALK NOT!
You movies are tooooo long. I would watch more if you were more straight to the point.
I wish they would be longer... the TGY full hour was my tea video highlight of the year - not many well paid journalists and tv crews could produce such great content: knowledge, expertise, true passion, and a real penchant to true enjoyment. Combine that with the rich history, geography, culture, and agricultural practices... I wish CZcams would be filled with more content like this!
Marianne Fleur I agree with you!
Never to long. They are so in depth I love it.
They wouldn't be long if you had tea with it. )
I am trying to keep things efficient and when I am filming it feels like 15 minutes and then I see that it is over 30 minutes! The thing is that in tea there is rarely a quick way of getting to the point without a bit of the background knowledge and I never know how much knowledge the viewer has so I feel the need to recap. We are always trying to keep things the length they need to be in order to get across the information without excess filler.